Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certificate

The TESL certificate program prepares students for careers as teachers of English to speakers of other languages. Completion of the certificate program qualifies graduates for the TESL Canada Professional Certification Standard Two from Canada's national organization of TESL professionals.

The TESL certificate program can be taken either after completion of a bachelor's degree program, or while completing one. Students who plan to do a degree and a certificate simultaneously should consult with an Advisor to ensure that they choose and schedule their courses appropriately. The degree program must be completed with a cumulative GPA of 2.67 or higher.

Entrance requirements

Applicants must meet the Degree/diploma level English language proficiency requirement. For details on how this requirement may be met, see the English language proficiency requirement section of the calendar.

Note: For TESL Canada certification, students who complete their degree in a language other than English will be required to meet one of the following requirements: IELTS Academic 7, TOEFL 101, or English 12 with 70% from a Canadian school.

Optional courses

Students may also be interested in the following courses. These are not required for the TESL certificate, but will provide an area of specialization.

Course

Title

Credits

LING 101

An Introduction to Language

3

LING 202

Language Acquisition

3

ENGL 209

The Structure of the English Language

3

Undergraduate continuance

Academic standing is governed by UFV’s Undergraduate Continuance policy (92). Students enrolled in undergraduate courses (courses numbered 100 or above) must maintain an undergraduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 2.00 to remain enrolled in Good Academic Standing at UFV.
Students in Good Academic Standing will have no registration limits placed on them. Failure to meet the minimum CGPA requirement will result in restrictions on registration and may eventually lead to academic suspension from undergraduate studies at UFV. Students on Academic Warning or Academic Probation are limited to registering in 10 credits. For further details, see the Academic standing and undergraduate continuance section of the academic calendar.

Completion requirements

Completion of a degree program with a cumulative GPA of 2.67 or higher.

Completion of all required TESL courses.

Eligibility for TESL Canada certification

Graduates of the UFV TESL certificate program are eligible to apply for the TESL Canada Professional Certificate Standard Two. Graduates are responsible for applying to TESL Canada for certification.

Course scheduling

Courses within the TESL certificate program can be viewed on the UFV Timetable.

Note: Students currently in a UFV credit program do not have to apply to admission to the program. They can apply to graduate from the TESL certificate upon completion of all program requirements and upon completion of their BA or BGS.